Imran indicted in Toshakhana case

ISLAMABAD: Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar Wednesday indicted Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. However, Imran refused to sign the documents, denying the committal of the crime. The hearing was held at the Guest House of the Police Lines Headquarters, which was given the court status.

The court indicted Imran despite the boycott of proceedings by the PTI chief and his legal team. Imran was scheduled to appear before a local court in the federal capital that had fixed his indictment for May 10 in the case last week. The indictment came despite Imran’s request for postponement. Speaking to the media after the hearing, Imran’s lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat said the former prime minister and his lawyers had boycotted the indictment proceedings. He maintained that the judge indicted the PTI chief despite his lack of confidence in him. “We are going to the Supreme Court (SC) today against the high court’s Tuesday’s decision,” Marwat said while referring to the IHC ruling that Imran’s arrest was legal.

The lawyer said the PTI chief was tortured at the time of arrest and added that the former prime minister was “kept awake” throughout the night, adding that he was kept in “a dirty room”. He further said the Islamabad Police did not even provide a bed to the PTI chief. “Imran’s message is that even if martial law is imposed, you [the nation] must stand up for the rule of law,” his counsel added.

Marwat said the former prime minister did not “complain about the NAB behaviour”, adding that he had “expressed no confidence in the IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq”. Imran’s lawyer also expressed a lack of trust in the Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar.